Wednesday, October 20, 2010

What are you doing on November 7? No, no, no. I mean besides celebrating King Kong Bundy's birthday. Well, you better be taking the L.A. Conservancy's walking tour of downtown's 7th Street. The deal is for thirty bucks ($25 for Conservancy members - cheap!) you walk the stretch from Figueroa to Los Angeles, stopping at a bunch of sites for guided tours. These sites include Historic-Cultural Monument No. 125, the Fine Arts Building (that's one of the building's Burt W. Johnson sculptures above), and that lobby alone is worth the price of admission. Other sites include:

Broadway Plaza (Macy’s Plaza) (Charles Luckman Associates, 1973) - This plaza is one of the few modern buildings on Seventh and was the first "megastructure" in the U.S., combining a hotel with office and retail space. Guests will visit the circular glass Polaris Room atop the Sheraton Hotel, once a rotating restaurant known as Angel's Flight and now used only for private events.

Roosevelt Building (The Roosevelt) (Curlett and Beelman, 1927) - Touted as Southern California's largest office building when it opened, this massive structure now features over 200 residential units and a restored lobby with spectacular marble mosaic floors.

Brock & Co. (Seven Grand) (Dodd and Richards, 1922) - Once dubbed the “Tiffany’s of California,” Brock’s provided jewelry and china to an elite clientele. The building later housed Clifton’s Silver Spoon cafeteria and now serves as home to the super-hip whiskey bar Seven Grand. Guests will have the chance to pore over original ledgers from Brock & Co., including a 1920s diamond register with intricate sketches of jewelry pieces.

Coulter Dry Good Company & Henning Building (The Mandel) (Dodd and Richards, 1917) - Coulter Dry Goods Company was Los Angeles’ oldest mercantile establishment when it moved to its sixth location in 1917. Now combined with its small neighbor to the west, the building offers loft-style housing and an enormous rooftop garden with stunning views.

St. Vincent’s Court - A unique urban space, St. Vincent’s Court is at the heart of the former Bullock’s Department Store complex. Still a working alley, this dead-end street has eclectic charm and a surprising history.

Overell’s (Dearden’s Home Furnishings) (Architect unknown, c. 1906) - Celebrating a century of business downtown, Dearden’s Home Furnishings has for decades occupied the building originally constructed for another furniture store, Overell’s. Dearden’s is a beloved community icon, an old-school classic, and the last remaining example of the many furniture stores that once filled the district.

Santee Court (Arthur W. Angel, 1911) - Located in the birthplace of L.A.’s fashion district, Santee Court’s vintage industrial buildings now form a thriving loft-style housing complex around a central courtyard. The featured loft on the tour occupies a space formed by connecting two buildings, resulting in an amazing "ghost sign" in the living room.

The event begins at 10:00 a.m., November 7. For more information, make with the clicks here. See you there - I'll be the guy with the camera.

10 comments:

Very psyched to see you back on the internet. I've kept your blog in my list as I love to reference places in LA, my place of birth, from time to time. Plus, it's nice to read the history of remaining landmarks in a city which took way too much pride in tearing them down.

Ditto - We missed you and are thrilled that you're back online. And thanks a million for the post on our tour! We had a great day, with around a thousand people strolling down Seventh. Hope to see you soon. Best, Cindy